England got their World Cup off to a flying start this week and there were plenty of Tottenham Hotspur connections within their victory
Thomas Tuchel's England side are up and running in the World Cup with their 4-2 victory against Croatia and there were a lot of Tottenham connections on the night.
Two goals from captain Harry Kane, one from Jude Bellingham and a killer 85th-minute strike from Marcus Rashford were the least that England deserved during an exciting, attacking performance that was only let down by a couple of defensive wobbles that allowed Martin Baturina and Petar Musa to score equalisers in the first half.
The win put England to the top of Group L after the opening round of fixtures with Ghana later beating Panama 1-0 thanks to a 95th minute winner from Caleb Yirenkyi. All eyes are now on Tuchel's men as they face Ghana next on Tuesday evening next week.
Those with eagle eyes though might have spotted a major amount of Tottenham Hotspur connections during England's victory in Dallas on Wednesday evening. Here are nine that we noticed. Let us know in the comments below if you think there are any we've missed out. Let's start with the most obvious.
Captain fantastic
There's only one place to start and that's with Kane. The 32-year-old came through the academy at Spurs and spent 19 years with the north London club, becoming their record goalscorer before making the move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023.
Kane was brilliant against Croatia, sweeping passes here, there and everywhere. He scored from the spot at the second attempt 12 minutes into the contest after his first penalty, complete with the stutter step, caused both goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic and defender Josko Gvardiol to move before it was taken.
Then the striker was bafflingly left unmarked to power home a header from a corner in the 42nd minute. The skipper had a big moment at the other end late in the game as he threw himself in the way of a Gvardiol shot in added time.
"If you see the commitment of our captain, of our number nine, in the extra time to block a crucial shot after a set piece with all his body and his commitment to buy into a defensive action like this, then you know everything about his performance today," said Tuchel of Kane, who was named player of the match.
"Complete performance, absolute leader and he is all in – he’s all in physically, he’s all in mentally, and he’s all in."
Modric and Madueke tangle
Two for one here for the Spurs moment that handed Kane the chance to score from the spot. That's because it was caused by 40-year-old Croatia legend Luka Modric, who spent four years at Tottenham from 2008 to 2012, making 160 appearances before heading off to Real Madrid and winning every club trophy the game has to offer.
Modric swung a leg out to try to clear the ball from the Croatia box but the experienced AC Milan midfielder did not realise that England winger Noni Madueke had nipped in first and so instead kicked him and sent him to the turf.
For those with good memories, Madueke spent four years in Tottenham's academy before departing in 2018 to join Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. The 24-year-old has continued his tour of London in recent years, playing for Chelsea and now Arsenal.
Vuskovic gets Croatia going
It's worth noting that a current Tottenham player did actually start the match although at this point in time he is yet to have played a competitive game for the club.
Luka Vuskovic might only be 19-years-old but most of Europe wants him and Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic decided to hand him his World Cup debut in only his sixth appearance for his country in the centre of a back three.
The teenager, who has been the subject of rejected bids from Brighton, made an impact in the 36th minute when he won the ball back near the halfway line and got Croatia up the pitch before Baturina fired home his powerful effort.
Vuskovic had a mixed game as England pulled him and his experienced team-mates all over the place, but with so much potential for the future, hopefully the young centre-back will remain a Tottenham player rather than becoming the one that got away.
Face in the crowd
A nostalgic one here as during the first half the camera panned to the face of an England fan in the crowd, watching the game with their son.
This was no ordinary fan though as Spurs supporters would have recognised Darren Anderton immediately even if it took a moment for the commentary team to recognise the former Tottenham and England midfielder.
The now 54-year-old played 346 games for the Lilywhites over 12 years at the club, while racking up 122 goal involvements. He also played 30 times for England, as one of the stars of the Euro 96 team and also played every game at the 1998 World Cup.
Anderton lives in the United States now after meeting his wife over there and is planning to take his son to various matches at the tournament.
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Remarkable veteran
If you've got Vuskovic at one end of the age scale and Modric at the other for Croatia, then somewhere near the upper end you've also got Ivan Perisic.
The 37-year-old is a machine and still moves up and down the left wing as he did more than a decade ago. Perisic was a big free transfer in Antonio Conte's first summer and played 50 times for Spurs, scoring once and providing 14 assists. He looked to have a bright season ahead under Ange Postecoglou only to suffer an ACL injury early in that campaign which essentially ended his time at Tottenham.
Now in yet another country in his glittering career, Perisic has managed 53 goal involvements in 78 matches for PSV Eindhoven as he continues to defy the laws of time.
On Wednesday night, he showed just how clever he is on and off the ball with a brilliant run and header sideways to confuse the England defence and put the ball on a plate for Musa to volley home just before the first half ended. Just to show how ridiculously in shape he is, Perisic celebrated by leapfrogging over the shoulders of his celebrating standing compatriot.
On the England bench
The Thomas Frank era won't be looked back on particularly fondly by Tottenham fans but there was a reminder of it on Tuchel's bench.
You might just have spotted that one of the German's coaching team is Justin Cochrane, who was one of Frank's assistants at both Tottenham and Brentford. The 44-year-old is highly thought of within the game and has been part of Tuchel's staff since early last year.
The connection between Spurs and Cochrane runs far deeper though than just those months alongside Frank. He worked as a coach in the club's academy long before that and that's where he started off his coaching journey before being named head coach of England U19s in 2019 which began his path within the FA and led to this World Cup adventure.
On the Croatia bench
If you had glanced across from the England bench to the Croatia one during the match in Dallas then eagle-eyed Spurs supporters would have spotted a popular former player among Dalic's coaches.
It was 40-year-old Vedran Corluka who spent four years at Tottenham after signing from Manchester City in 2008 and played 109 matches, mainly as a right-back, during the period when the club had a healthy contingent of Croatians.
Corluka was loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 and that summer joined Lokomotiv Moscow, where he played out the rest of his career until 2021. He has been Dalic's assistant with the national team ever since.
Super Spence
Just when it looked like Spurs were going to finish the game with no current players involved in it, after Vuskovic was taken off in the 66th minute, so entered Djed Spence for his World Cup debut in the 80th minute.
The 25-year-old, complete with his jaw protector after that elbow from Liam Delap, was really bright during his late cameo in the game.
First he ran through and had a shot saved by Livakovic and then was involved in the break which led to Rashford netting England's fourth and final goal of the game.
Spence got plenty of praise from the pundits after his display and will have done his cause plenty of good in getting more game time as the tournament progresses.